Whoo-hoo! We have now reached the one-hundredth chapter in this story, people! Personal milestone achieved!
First of all, I'd like to say thank you to those readers who have been devouring my fic since the beginning, and to all the reviewers (both with and without accounts) for leaving your words, positive and constructive. It's helped me to become stronger in my writing, and also to stand tall and proud against those who for reasons unknown to myself and others, feel the need to bring people down. I hope the message is clear by this point: I am an author who is very satisfied of their work, and I will keep writing to my heart's content regardless of anyone's opinion.
Second, there will soon be new content to come between the original storyline, and while I won't give too much away, I'll give you a hint: It'll be centering around one of my OCs and a certain wolf demon.
...That's it from me. Anyway, enjoy this next installment in the Inuyasha universe!
Chapter 100: Victims of Necromancy
The weather casts a thin overcast of clouds over the inky blue sky, the glittering stars and bright moon shining translucently down over Edo's countryside for another night...
Two of the soul-collecting demons known as the Shinidamachū float over a river cutting through one of many thick forests that scatter the landscape, as their ally, Kikyō, weaves out from between some beech trunks to stand near the riverbank's edge.
She then senses another presence, and turns to her left to see a young woman, currently unconscious face-down on the dirt nearest the river, with long, copper brown hair tied back into a messy yet somewhat elaborate ponytail half-do, and wearing a short, double-layered, sleeveless kimono of burgundy-red with an orange underskirt and light red sash around her waist, her wrists and lower calves sporting bandage-style guards, and her feet bare-soled. The woman's body was also littered with bruises and dirt scuffs...
That girl...
Kikyō directs one of her Shinidamachū to give the other woman one the souls it had (suggesting they, like herself, also wander between life and death), and as soon as the orb dropped inside her body, it shimmered with the Soul's glow, while also healing some of her bruising...The brunette's eyes blink awake, revealing irises that were the colour of a sunset's first burn, and she thinks to herself,
...A Soul Collector? What is it doing here?
She weakly pushes herself up to her knees and mutters,
"Don't interfere..."
The second Shinidamachū then softly drops its collected Soul into her body, which for reasons unknown to all except the brunette herself, sparked agitation.
"Go away! Leave me alone!"
As she watched the neutral-siding demon float away, the brunette then spots the specter priestess standing nearby.
"Huh?"
Kikyō would be the one to spark a conversation:
"So you wanted to die, or rather, you wanted to remain dead?"
"...I know you. (Widens eyes) You're Kikyō, aren't you?"
The priestess was a bit taken aback by the address:
"How is that you know my name?" The brunette's eyes narrow in anger as she replies,
"I knew it was you..."
(...Fwooooom)
Suddenly, fiery flames erupt around the woman's body, before shooting at Kikyō, who calmly shuts her eyes until it passed, only to open them again and find that the brunette...had vanished...!
The priestess looked to the skies with a sad expression, knowing where the young woman's origins laid:
...Urasue must've brought her back to life. I had no idea that others shared my suffering.
At the same time this went on, a huge company of soldiers had gathered in front of a large castle nestled on a hilltop between mountain peaks covered thickly by the dark greenery of pine and oak, the structure surrounded by a stone-cut wall. Up top, the guards of the castle were firing flame-tipped arrows to cut down on the approaching enemy, but getting a closer look, we see the attack does nothing to slow them down, for they appeared to be made of clay pottery!
Their leader, a man with mid-length, shaggy-cut silver hair, bangs hovering over a headband, wearing a samurai uniform with dominating colours of blue, black, yellow and gray, rides on a dark auburn-haired steed in a charge for the front gate, his sword raised and slowly wrapping itself in fire...
(...Booooom)
The doors are blown open, with several guards perishing from the explosion's impact, as the leader of the pottery army orders,
"Destroy them, my lifeless clay soldiers! Stain the earth with the enemy's blood!"
With their spears raised, the loyal 'men' march inside the castle, and despite the efforts of the rest of the guards, no weapon would be sharp enough to penetrate the other's 'skin', leaving the whole place vulnerable to conquest and ultimately its own destruction...
As the castle went up in a towering fire, smoke billowing thick and morbidly, the leader of the clay army laughs manically and shouts to the heavens,
"Take a good look at me, mother! I shall fill this world with the walking dead!"
Small Time Skip, Inuyasha's POV
It's been a few days since we all left the village that was being swindled by that creep of a rat demon, and we decided to stop in a small clearing sitting between some cedars for the night. While most of us chose to sleep close to the campfire we built a few hours ago, I opt to sit against a tree trunk that sat just a bit further away, with Coraline laying her head on my right leg while curled under that blue blanket that she brings in her bag. I remember falling asleep a couple minutes after she did, my clawed fingers softly combing through her hair, when about an hour or two later, my nose picks up on a scent I haven't smelled for a long time.
"(Sniff, sniff...)"
Huh? Wait...is this...?
The monk must've heard me, for his voice broke into the quiet with the question,
"So, what's the matter? Smell something?"
I inhale the scent once more before I remembered what it was, and I reply as I blink my eyes open,
"Now I know what it is: The smell of medicinal herbs."
And not the good kind either...
"Herbs? What're you talking about?"
"Mmm-mm? In-(yawn)-uyasha?"
I look down to see my intended was waking up, rubbing one of her tired eyes while muttering in a concerned tone,
"I felt you tense and heard you say, 'medicinal herbs'..."
My irises softened a bit at how quick she was able to sense my troubles, and I help her sit up before I stood to my feet while replying to her and Miroku more seriously,
"It's the exact same smell of the herbs used by that sorceress, Urasue when she resurrected Kikyō."
At the mention of the hag's name, Coraline became more awake and shivered in discomfort with a frown:
"Urasue...Now there's a name I won't soon forget..."
Everyone else was rousing from sleep by this point, and Freeman asks Coraline,
"Is that the creepy witch that tried to steal your Soul away back when it was merged with Kikyō's?"
She nods solemnly, the expression making me all the more motivated to find out if it is the hag or some kind-of ploy.
"I hope I'm wrong about this...Wait here: I'll check it out."
I start leaping off in the scent's direction, ignoring my intended's cry for me to wait, for if that old hag really is alive,
I'm not about to allow her to get near Coraline again...Not after almost losing her once.
Coraline's POV
Shortly after gathering our things and dousing the fire, my friends, brothers and I began heading after Inuyasha through the forest, with Miroku and Sango aboard a transformed Kilala and the rest of us running on foot, save Shippo who was riding on Besa's shoulder and Lumos who floated ahead.
"How can he expect us to just sit around and wait?"
"Yeah, we're as worried as he is!"
I hmmed in agreement with Miroku and Sango, adding to myself,
I know he wants to protect me from, her, but...I want to protect him too.
If that witch is somehow alive, which I highly doubt considering how she died, I don't want Inuyasha to become her next soul-snatching victim...
"It's strange, though: I remember clearly that shortly after Kikyō was forcibly resurrected, she quickly destroyed Urasue with her purification powers..."
"And by destroy, the witch was burned to ash, right?"
I nodded in confirmation to Freeman, who shakes his head in skepticism:
"Then there's no way she could've revived. The winds would've scattered her remains to god-who-gives-a-damn-where."
Besa narrows his eyes in thought:
"Still...there's something I can't help but wonder..."
"What?"
"What if Kikyō wasn't her first victim? Urasue's life was all about making live clay bodies mixed with human bones, black magic and living Souls...Maybe it's not her Inuyasha's nose picked up, but rather..."
I quickly caught onto where my brother was going:
"Uh! You think there's another poor Soul who was brought back to life by Urasue?"
He nods, and I mutter,
"...That's actually a good possibility."
But the question is, did they share a closer relationship with the witch, or will they be just as hostile as Kikyō was?
No POV
We catch up with the mysterious brunette from before, who was now walking up to an area up the river nestled with some beeches lining the rocky ledges, a few small waterfalls and a pool that any other day would be an inviting swimming hole. But such activity was not on her radar, her focus more on crossing some stepping stones with a wobble in her step, continuing her trek on a path further into the woods for a bit longer before stopping to lean against a pile of boulders to catch her breath...
But her break would be cut short, when several clay soldiers appear a couple feet behind her!
"Uh! Clay warriors? Stop; what do you want with me?"
One jumps in front of her and grasps her wrist, prompting her to try and struggle away:
"What're you doing?! I command you to leave me alone! Obey me!"
The soldier does not heed her and tugs her forward, making her more angered and frantic:
"Agh! Nooo! I refuse to go back! (Beats their arm) Release me!"
"Let her go!"
"Uh!"
(Leap)
"Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!"
(Slash, shatter)
Luckily for her, Inuyasha jumps in to dispatch the clay soldiers, reducing them to pottery rubble! He watches as the Souls once trapped in the clay bodies begin floating away for freedom, narrowing his eyes.
"So I was right: The clay warriors Urasue created."
"...Inuyasha!"
"Hm?"
He turns his head left and sees Coraline and the others rush out from the trees and stop near him by the riverbank.
"Inuyasha..."
"Are you okay?"
He nods with a grunt at them and replies,
"Yeah," while the twins cast their eyes to the shattered pieces of the clay soldiers:
"Whoa..."
"Cora, are those...?" She nods with a wary frown:
"No mistake: These are the same clay freaks made from ground human bones and graveyard soil. A recipe of Hell, if you ask me...But what could've possessed then to show up here?"
Inuyasha directs his eyes to the brunette, who was now laying unconscious by the water:
"I dunno what's goin' on, but it seems they were after that, girl..."
He leaps down to her first, with Coraline rushing down afterwards, Shippo tailing with her:
"Is she alive?"
The redhead knelt her ear down, intent being to listen for a heartbeat, until her own nose picked up on a scent.
"Huh? Funeral incense...Uh!"
She retracts back in shocked realization, and Inuyasha grimly voiced similar thoughts:
"Yeah. It's the smell of medicinal herbs used by Urasue."
Miroku gasps a bit, and Sango asks with a bit of edge,
"What's going on here?"
The dog demon answers, his tone a bit heavier,
"This girl is dead...just like Kikyō. She was revived with Urasue's black magic."
Coraline forms a deeply saddened expression:
"This poor girl...forced to walk the earth again with death eluding her...like Kikyō."
Time Skip
Come the next day, our group would be housing in a deserted Buddha shrine hidden deep within the forest, the tiling on the roofs littered with gaps and the screen doors worn thin with some holes already forming in the thin rice-paper...
Right now, it was only Coraline, Sango, and Shippo sitting inside the house, while the brunette specter rested on Kilala's tail, and Lumos floating near her with both curiousity and concern. As she waited with her friends for the girl to wake up again, Coraline's wandered back to an earlier time in her excursions to Edo.
It feels like it was ages ago, that day...
We were pursuing that grave-robbing witch, Urasue, who desecrated Kikyō's tomb to steal away her ashes. Unfortunately, about halfway through the fight with the clay soldiers on that rickety-old bridge, she intervened by slicing it in two with her scythe, taking me hostage and leaving Inuyasha, Kaede and Shippo to almost plummet to their death.
(Flash)
"...After all my hard work trying to revive that corpse, I won't easily give up its reincarnated soul. I have plans in store for you...plans to bring back Kikyō."
(Flash)
Once I was restrained, she placed me in a stone basin filled with so many medicinal herbs, the smell was sickening.
The feeling of the spell as it took effect was even worse, like the hand of a claw machine trying to tug out a hard-to-get stuffed toy...
But the worst part, was definitely hearing Kikyō's Soul struggle to stay away from the living world, almost begging to remain in the afterlife.
(Flash)
"Do not call out for me...Do not call out my name!"
(Flash)
But, her wish would not be heeded: In the end, the poor priestess was successfully resurrected by that ogre of a woman...
The redhead then smirked grimly and added,
...Still, karma got the witch pretty good, when Kikyō used her power to destroy Urasue.
She then places a hand over her heart, shifting to a smile that was both sad and happy:
And after many trials and tribulations, I was able to return her Soul to what it was before that whole mess...
Kikyō...I dunno how much longer you'll have to wander the earth until you can finally be at peace once again, but I wish you all the luck in the world.
At the same time, the four men had followed the scent trail Inuyasha's nose picked up to a large, quiet lake sitting not too far away from the run-down shrine. Freeman folds his arms while holding his long hammer between them and mutters,
"Shoot, end of the road." Miroku remarks,
"The scent of the herbs led us this far, but we found nothing."
The silver-haired dog demon disagreed, holding up a bit of soil to his nostrils:
"No, not necessarily nothing: It's faint, but Kikyō's scent is still here."
That caught the other three men's attention:
"Kikyō's scent?"
"Really?" "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, but I'm fairly sure she's not around here anymore..."
Inuyasha then tosses the little clump of dirt into the lake, creating small ripples to billow on the water's surface, as Miroku ponders,
"I've heard that a strange army of soldiers has recently destroyed a number of castles in this area."
The dog demon scoffs,
"I've got better things to do than get involved in stupid human wars."
"There are rumours that it's a demon that's behind these attacks. These soldiers cannot be slain by swords, and not even spears will pierce their armour..."
Freeman asks Miroku,
"You're thinkin' this army might be made of those clay soldiers, right?"
"One thing is for certain, and that someone is bringing these clay warriors to life."
"Well it's obviously not Kikyō who's doing it."
"Hm?"
Miroku, Inuyasha and Freeman turn to Besa, who explains his reasoning for such an easy judgement:
"Given how bitterly she reacted to Urasue during her revival, she wouldn't want anything to do with that witch's power. It's more likely that she came across the specter girl before we did and tried to help her, but was likely turned away."
"You think so?"
"Mhm. Plus, what would she gain in something like terrorizing regular folk? That wouldn't be like her at all...Her agenda's currently filled with the same goal we have: Finding and eradicating Naraku."
Inuyasha hms and mutters with a slight growl in the end of his voice,
"...You're right. I know you are, Besa...still, what's goin' on, anyway?"
He then turns and leaps off, much to the other's confusions:
"Huh? Dude!"
"Ah-Hey, Inuyasha, where are you headin' now?"
He calls back,
"Where else? I'm gonna slay whoever's controlling these clay warriors!"
Miroku sighs and thinks to himself with a worried smile,
Whenever Kikyō's involved, Inuyasha plunges in without a second thought...
"I'm gonna head with him."
"Huh?"
(Sheen...)
Besa activates his Seven Light Crystal, enveloping himself in its power, his body now wrapped in a ringed, transparent rainbow glow, and adds with a determined frown,
"He knows that I'm more than likely right, but wants to be sure. Besides, I have this weird feeling he's gonna need backup."
"Are you sure you can catch him?"
"Positive. I'll see you guys later."
With that, the dark-skinned boy with corn-row hair takes off in the direction Inuyasha leaped to, with Freeman calling,
"Be careful, bro!"
"(Distant) I will, brother, promise!"
Once his brother was out of sight, Freeman lowers his hand with an exhale of worry:
Stay safe, Besa...
Coraline's POV
I had just finished brewing some tea for myself, Sango and Shippo over the mini camp-stove in the courtyard, when I heard some shuffling coming from the front door of the abandoned shrine house.
"Hm?"
Turning to look, I saw that the girl finally woke up, and was using the door frame to keep herself balanced. Smiling at her gently, I greet,
"Hey there. Glad to see you're up...Are you sure you can stand, though?"
She stares at me for a moment, before a moan escapes her lips and she slips to her knees with a heavy pant.
Oh dear. She must not have alot of spiritual support...
I get up and walk over to her side to help her up while sternly chiding,
"Don't overexert yourself if you can't even stay on your feet."
"Mph, so many people interfering...like those Soul Collectors last night..."
My brow raises in confusion from her reluctance to accept help:
"Soul Collectors...You mean the Shinidamachū, correct?"
"She should've just left me for dead like she found me..."
She...Oh!
"Then you must've met with Kikyō."
"Hmph...so that was Kikyō. I wondered where she had disappeared to after she killed my mother."
Sango asks,
"You mother? Who would that be?"
I quickly deduced the identity, but wanted to be sure:
"(Narrows eyes) Please tell me you don't mean that witch, Urasue."
...She doesn't answer verbally, but I did see her shoulders tense a bit, which told me all I needed.
Inuyasha's POV
Tracking the scent of the clay warriors, I reached a huge castle hidden on a hill overlooking the forest that bordered a grass plain, where in the courtyard, a very large army of those pottery figures stood at the ready. I'm watching this from atop a tree branch, with Besa sitting beside me, he somehow managing to catch up with me using the power of his Seven Light shard.
To think, he and Freeman can almost match a demon's speed with just a little spark of energy...Crazy, but definitely not useless.
Turning my eyes from his form, I peer over the clay army again while thinking,
Whoever is controlling these soulless warriors is around here somewhere...
I feel Besa tap my shoulder, and turn to see him pointing to one of the rooftops while whispering,
"My heightened senses are picking up a figure with similar structure to the clay soldiers over there. I think it's safe to say they're the ones controlling the army...and to answer your next question, no, it's definitely not Kikyō."
My eyes widen a bit at his deduction, before asking in just as low a voice,
"How can you be sure?"
"Because if it were her, I would've detected a more live heartbeat. That's what Cora said that she could sense in Kikyō now since, well, you know, her flesh was restored...?"
"Hm...In that case, let's get a closer look at who's really runnin' this."
"Right."
No POV
Inside the castle itself, the leader of the clay army was speaking with his retainers about which place to storm next, pointing to a location on a map with a stick.
"Next, we'll attack this castle. Even though it's heavily guarded..."
Three of the retainers finish his thoughts:
"No one can hope to overcome our powerful army."
"Our dream of ruling over the land will soon come true."
"It's all because of you, my lord."
He in turn adds,
"And the clay warriors created by Enju and me."
The leader then laughs, before stopping when he senses a disturbance...Back outside, Inuyasha lands on the rooftop that Besa pointed out, the latter lightly hopping off the former's back when they safely settled onto the tiles. The dog demon turns to the dark-complexioned boy and gives him an expression that asked,
You sure they're here?
He nods firmly, and they quickly jumped down to the path leading to the section's entrance, peering their eyes around for anything suspicious...
Suddenly:
(Glow...)
"Huh?" "Uh!"
A flaming blue light appears in front of them both on the porch steps of the castle section, revealing the leader of the clay army!
"What business do the two of you have in this castle?"
Inuyasha narrows his eyes as Besa hissed,
"That's them: The one with the structure like the clay soldiers!"
"Yeah, I see it now. (Turns eyes to the leader) You're the one: You're controlling Urasue's warriors and raging havoc in this region! This place reeks of dead men."
The leader does not deny it, and introduces himself:
"My name is Kawaramaru. I am Urasue's son."
That threw both boys off:
"Urasue's son?!"
"No way!"
"You were a traveling companion of the priestess who killed my mother. Perfect timing."
(Click, click...)
Several soldiers from the clay army appear, circling Inuyasha and Besa while pointing their spears at them. Kawaramaru then says to them,
"I built an army of soldiers in order to conquer the neighbouring lands, but first, I shall deal with you and your friend. (Raises a hand) Turn them both into flesh and bone!"
Inuyasha retorts with claws raised as Besa quickly brought out his sickles,
"Not happening!"
The clay soldiers charge, as does the dog demon:
"You're dead! Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!"
(Slash, shatter...)
Besa adds to the pressure by pierce-hacking a few more of the soldiers:
"Hrrrah!"
(Stab, shatter...)
However, just as it looked like the fight was in favour, the hollowed bodies of the clay figures suddenly release a light green gas that engulfs the air around them, forcing Inuyasha to cover his nose with his sleeve, and Besa to use his arm.
"A miasma has been placed in the chest of those clay warriors!"
"(Cough) And a strong one too. If not for my crystal, I'd be hacking up blood by now...!"
Kawaramaru jeers,
"Your skin and flesh will melt. I shall use your bones to make you my slaves!"
Inuyasha and Besa try to trudge away from the suffocating gas:
"(Cough, cough) My vision's getting blurry...!"
"And I can, (cough) feel my skin burning up...!"
Two clay soldiers rush at them with their spears raised, but the dog demon just breaks the one in front of him with a hand swipe.
"Move!"
Grabbing Besa, he leaps over to the barrier wall, and they both dodge a few of the weapons that were thrown at them, before the latter uses his Tessaiga to slice the clay soldiers away.
"Hah!"
(Slash, shatter...)
Inuyasha then says to Besa,
"Get ready, 'cause we're gettin' outta here," before leaping into the air to unleash a stronger attack:
"Wind Scar!"
(SLASH)
Not only would any other clay soldiers in this part of the castle be destroyed, but so would a couple of the buildings that make up this large structure...Walking through the rubble and splintered wood, Kawaramaru peers around the area before smiling when he realizes,
They escaped.
Scene Shift: Abandoned Buddha Shrine
While Inuyasha and Besa uncover who's responsible for the rise of Urasue's clay figurines, we check back with Coraline, Sango and Shippo, as they sat on the front porch of the shrine house with the brunette specter girl to speak about what she knew. She peers at the piece of clay in the redhead's hands:
"Fragments of clay warriors from my kiln...Kawaramaru forced me to make them."
"And who is he?"
"My name is Enju. (Sad frown) Urasue brought me and the one known as Kawaramaru back to life to serve her. She even called us her children. It seems so very long ago..."
Sango asks,
"She used her black magic?" Enju nods and goes on:
"Kawaramaru was once a warrior who was betrayed by a vassal. He excels in commanding soldiers and after he was reborn, Urasue gave him the power to control clay soldiers...Before my death, I used to be a potter by trade."
Coraline nods with a firm frown:
"I can see now what Urasue's intentions were: Much like Kaede explained to me back when, the witch's goals for resurrecting the dead was to exploit the skills they had from before they died."
Enju nods:
"Urasue made me help her make clay warriors...and she intended to make that priestess help her find fragments of the Shikon-no-Tama...And then, Urasue was killed..."
A moment of silence falls between the small group...until Enju adds,
"Then, Kawaramaru ordered me to begin making the clay warriors...I didn't want to. I didn't want any part in creating warriors that killed people. (Depressed frown) But when I became frail from a weakened spirit, Kawaramaru brought back more Souls of the Dead to animate this body...I didn't want any. I just wanted to rest in peace..."
"And so you ran away?"
"Huh?"
Enju looks up and sees Miroku peering at her with a smile, while Freeman moved to sit with his sister:
"Hey, bro. Where's Inuyasha and Besa?"
As he whispers about where he believes the two had ran off to investigate, Miroku compliments the undead brunette.
"You are beautiful even though you were once dead."
Coraline scolds,
"Miroku, that was thoughtless for two reasons!"
"You say you want to rest in peace, but now you have a second chance at life. Why didn't you cherish such a golden opportunity?"
The monk turns his eyes to the bronze statue sitting inside the shrine:
"Turn around. Look at the Buddha's smile...He smiles because he loves all forms of life, every living being."
The redhead smiles at the serious and heartwarming thought:
"That's a better message." Sango was impressed too:
"Incredible, Miroku. What a great thing to say!"
Shippo, on the other hand, could see a hidden motive in the monk's kindness:
"He might be able to deceive you two, but he's not fooling me."
Freeman chides with a shrug,
"Eh, cut him a little slack, kiddo: At least his heart's in the right place."
Miroku then says,
"And so it seems Kawaramaru does not intend to let you go."
He and Enju then dart their eyes to the left side of the shrine courtyard, just as several of the clay soldiers appeared! Sango stands up on the defense:
"They followed her!"
Coraline pulls out her ShatterSoul Sword from its sheath and directs,
"Bro, Shippo, Kilala: You three stay back and protect Enju!"
The fox demon replies,
"Count on it! They won't get near her!"
While he sat on the full-formed cat demon's back on Enju's left, Freeman crouched at the ready with his long hammer on her right.
"Figures they wouldn't give up yet..."
The clay soldiers began to slowly march towards the group, and Coraline raised her sword to swing:
"Hold it right there, or I'll cut you down in one swipe!" Miroku says to her,
"It's useless to talk to them. Lifeless clay warriors would never understand."
He then jumps into the air and smashes the soldiers into pieces using his staff, surprising Enju:
"He crushed the clay warriors I made...!" Shippo chimes,
"Nobody will deny that Miroku is a lecherous monk, but he has incredible spiritual powers."
Freeman adds while watching his sister,
"And he's not the only one..."
"Spirit Slash!"
(Swipe, shatter)
Another set of the soldiers is cut down with an ice blue slash mark, and Coraline turns to the brunette to say,
"Enju, don't worry: These pottery mummies don't stand a chance against us!"
Sango uses her Hiraikotsu to knock apart more of the soldiers while adding fiercely,
"Nobody, could possibly want to be a soldier after death!"
Miroku takes down more of the clay soldiers, before praying for the departing Souls that rose from the shattered remains.
"Return to the soil and find eternal peace..."
Enju shakes her head, not as enthusiastic as the others were:
"It's useless. A handful of soldiers won't stop him: Kawaramaru controls thousands more. Besides...hm?"
She and the others then pick up on the echo of hundreds of footsteps marching in progression, and rushed to the edge of the grounds making the abandoned shrine that overlooked a distant grass plain...Miroku then spots the source over yonder:
"Over there!"
It would be the almost impossibly-large army of clay soldiers from the castle before...Enju remarks,
"Kawaramaru's army must be moving to conquer another castle somewhere."
Shippo and Freeman were impressed by the size:
"There must be thousands of them...!"
"Definitely more than I can count, holy crap!"
Despite the overwhelming numbers, Coraline felt all the more determined to put an end to the terror:
"We can still annihilate them; I know we can!" She adds to the brunette,
"So promise me this, Enju: If we come out on top in this next battle...you must try to keep on living."
Enju looks at the redhead in disbelief:
Why? Why are you doing all this for me?
Zooming down below to the plain, we see Kawaramaru and a few of his retainers riding up front of the army on horses, confident of their next victory...
"Hold it right there!" "Stop!"
Kawaramaru pulls his horse's reins to a stop, as he spots Inuyasha and Besa charge towards the army's way with claws and sickles raised respectively, which made him smirk smugly. The dog demon then leaps up high and makes his first move in this new battle:
"Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!"
(Slash, shatter)
Besa followed after against three clay soldiers:
"Hah!"
(Hack, swipe, shatter)
The clay figures fall to both fighters in pieces, just as Miroku and Freeman arrive next:
"Inuyasha!" "Bro!"
Once they stopped, the monk turns his eyes on Kawaramaru:
"Look at that warrior, the one in the blue armour. Is he the general?"
Inuyasha replies,
"Yeah. So we just have to stop him!"
More of the clay soldiers try to attack the four, but they scatter away and dodge the spears, before Freeman took a crack at destroying them.
"I got it! Hrrrah!"
(Swing, shatter-crash-crash)
Using his hammer, he knocks one soldier into two others, smashing apart all three at once!
He grins, but snaps back to reality of the army's size:
"Damn. Crushing a few doesn't leave much of a dent, does it?"
Miroku uses his staff to take down a few more and nods:
"There are too many of them. I'll use my Wind Tunnel."
But Inuyasha and Besa immediately protested the idea:
"Stop, Miroku! The clay warriors have miasma in their chests!"
"If we cut them down too recklessly, we'll just get hit by the toxins!"
"Then I'll have to use...Sacred Sutras!"
The spiritual papers shoot from Miroku's hand and onto the faces of some of the clay warriors, before sparking with a static power and forcing them to fall to the ground. At the same time, Freeman moves to activate his Seven Light shard:
"I better up my own protection then...(Sheen) There...now..."
He raises his long hammer at the ready:
"Batter up!"
(Swing, smash, shatter...)
While he and Besa use their weapons to shove the soldiers down to break apart far away enough that they wouldn't get hit by any possible gastric cloud releases, Inuyasha lunges at another section of the clay army.
"Out of my way! Move it!"
(Leap)
"Blades of Blood!"
(Swipe, tok-tok-tok-tok-tok...)
He cuts down on several of the pottery men with blood-fused air blades...Kawaramaru scoffs with a sneer at how hard they were all fighting:
"Ha. Your efforts are in vain."
"...Inuyasha!" "Miroku!"
"Hm?"
He then turns to see the rest of our main travel group arriving to the battlefield, the two girls running on foot, while Shippo and Enju rode atop Kilala. Slowing to a stop, Coraline readies to cut down on a number of the soldiers using the power of her blade:
"Spirit Sl-"
"Sis, wait, don't!"
"Gh!"
She freezes her swing about halfway, looking over at Freeman in disbelief for his protest, until he warns,
"These ones aren't like the clay freaks from earlier: They've been built with a potent miasma in their chests!"
"You're kidding!"
"No lie: Cut 'em the wrong way and we'll be saying hello to a gas chamber!"
Gritting her teeth, Coraline reluctantly sheathes her sword, and opts to pull out her combat knife:
"In that case, I'll switch to this until I can come up with another plan for my sword..."
She then jogs with Sango to join up with the others, Kilala landing with Shippo and Enju on her back none too far behind them, moving to stand close with Inuyasha, and sending a nod to her brother.
"Thanks for the warning."
"Right."
"(Faces up front) So I'm guessing the man on horseback in the fancier armour is Kawaramaru?"
Inuyasha nods in confirmation:
"That's him alright. And you and Sango brought along the dead girl Urasue resurrected?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, it was her who crafted these clay warriors, until she had the guts to finally make a run for it."
Shippo adds,
"She didn't wanna have to make any more of those clay killers."
The dog demon wasn't as sympathetic to Enju's tale:
"She didn't have any problem makin' the first couple thousand, and only now she's sick of it? Sounds a little too convenient."
He then pulls out his Tessaiga and points it threateningly at Enju, much to Coraline's protest:
"Wait, Inuyasha, please don't-"
But then Enju herself says to Inuyasha in a dead tone,
"Kill me. That's what I've wanted all along."
...The dog demon lowers his blade with a scoff, and Enju walks over to stand a few feet away from where Kawaramaru was.
"That's why I ran away from you."
"...Enju..."
"We, are the walking dead. We have no right to be in this world."
The undead samurai refused to believe that:
"Ha! Don't make me laugh. If that's the case, then why were we all resurrected? Was it just mother's whim?...Why won't you come join me? Enju, if we slay every living person, you can finally find peace as one of the walking dead."
...Coraline's free hand clenches hard, knuckles cracking in anger, having heard enough of Kawaramaru's words.
That tears it!
She storms over to stand by Enju's side (which prompted the clay soldiers to ready their spears on the offense, sensing the rapidly-rising hostility in the redhead) before shouting,
"Are you out of your fucking mind?! You understand nothing of Enju's true desires! She would rather die in peace then continue to be used by you like that necromancy hag used both of you!"
Kawaramaru barks back,
"A living mortal could never understand what we feel!"
"I understand more than you think, you bastard, but you were obviously built with too thick a clay skull to let any non-violent suggestions enter your mind!"
The silver-haired samurai grinds his teeth from the insult, while the twins snicker and whisper,
"Oooh, snap!" "He just got sniped!"
Inuyasha almost smirks at how bold Coraline was acting, but focused back on the frustrations rising in this battle.
"Damn! It's fools like you that are better off dead!"
"Ha-ha! You're wrong: We have been reborn! We'll do as we please!"
Kawaramaru then urges his horse into a charge, forcing Inuyasha to jump out of the other's path, the horse stopping on top a knoll.
The undead samurai then raised his sword to the dark-ridden skies:
"Arise from the earth! I summon you, Demon of Hell!"
His blade catches flame, before a lightning bolt cracks from the clouds and strikes Kawaramaru! Coraline jumps from the noise and huddles near Inuyasha, who pulls her close with his free hand, while Shippo hopped into the safety of Freeman's arms, he shuffling close to his brother, who held his shoulder in a brotherly fashion...
(CRACK, CRUMBLE...)
The ground beneath Kawaramaru splits apart into huge pieces of upturned soil and rock, and everyone gasps, as an enormous, white-skinned demon soldier wearing gladiator-like samurai armour rose into view with a rumbling growl! Kawaramaru, who was now standing on the demon's left shoulder, lets out a loud, dark laugh:
"Demon of Hell: By my mother's sorcery, you awaken! Attack! Destroy them!"
Inuyasha charges forward to attack:
"Just try it!"
After dodging a slam of a giant palm, he then slashes the demon's upper arm with the Tessaiga, causing toxic fumes to spill out, which throw him back and made him vulnerable to being grabbed by the demon's other hand!
"Inuyasha!"
Coraline readies to rush in and help him, but Besa pulls her back:
"Cora, don't! You'll be overtaken by the miasma!"
She stops struggling, grinding her teeth in frustration, while Kawaramaru jeers with a laugh,
"He'll squeeze the very life out of you!"
Miroku prepares to remove the prayer beads on his cursed hand:
"I'll use my Wind Tunnel! (Turns eyes to Inuyasha) Get away from there!"
"Stay out of it, Miroku! I'll take care of him!"
The rest of the clay soldiers start advancing towards the group, to which Coraline would face bravely, switching her knife for her sword.
"Lumos! I need a boost!"
The Will O' Wisp pops out of Coraline's shirt pocket, and releases some of his power to the blade, before floating by the others, knowing what his partner was going to say next.
"While Inuyasha takes on the big guy, I'll strike down these clay pots in one shot!"
Everyone was flabbergasted by her proclamation:
"Coraline!" "What?!" "Are you crazy, sis?!"
"Don't ask stupid questions, just get outta here! Now!"
Though hesitant, the rest of our group does as Coraline asks, with the twins shouting,
"Let's go, guys!" "Clear the way!"
Miroku takes the undead brunette's hand to lead her to safety too:
"Enju!"
Once they were out of the line of fire, Coraline glances up at Inuyasha with a determined look:
"You ready, Inuyasha?"
He nods firmly, and turns back to the hysterically-laughing Kawaramaru with a rage-filled expression:
"You're disgusting! You can't use Human Souls for your own little games! Now Die!"
(SLASH)
At the same time the Wind Scar is unleashed, so to was the ultimate technique of the ShatterSoul Sword:
"Soul Shatter X!"
(Swipe, swipe, shing...SLASH)
The Demon of Hell and Kawaramaru would be killed instantly by the power of the three-clawed, yellow-toned slash, while the clay army fell prey to the X-shaped, ice blue cut mark, both causing an explosion to ensue...!
...Once the dust smoke clears, the clear, bright blue sky would highlight the shattered remains of the pottery warriors, with Inuyasha and Coraline standing back-to-back with their weapons raised, panting heavily...Miroku comments,
"The power of the Wind Scar blasted the Demonic Aura and Kawaramaru into ashes..."
Besa adds,
"And the energies of the ShatterSoul Sword obliterated the clay warriors while blowing away any traces of the miasma..."
Speaking of the sword, its wielder would be rather winded after such a power release, and dropped to her knees with a soft moan of exhaustion, prompting the other swordsperson to turn around and check up on her.
"You alright?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. (Weak smile) It's just been a little while since I used that attack, and it drains me quite a bit."
The dog demon nods, and gently pulls the redhead to her feet, holding her close to his side...
...Enju stood apart from the rest of the group, staring aimlessly at the ruined plains littered with pieces of the clay army and the dust of what used to be her, 'brother', until she sadly mutters his name.
Small Time Skip
After parting ways with Enju, our travel group returns to the lake near the abandoned Buddha shrine to drop pieces of what little remained of Kawaramaru's armour into the deep water below...
Once that was done, Inuyasha asks Coraline,
"You sure this is okay?"
"I'd say so. Unless someone in this era's invented deep-water diving, no one will discover that armour for a very long time...You know, this whole battle has got me thinking about the concepts of life and death."
"Hm?"
The redhead smiles thoughtfully and muses,
"One mystery that remains such is the question why we are born, as both individuals and the human race in general...But, there's always something deep within our spirits, this, push to keep going."
She places a hand over her heart with a grimmer smile:
"I certainly got to know that piece of my spirit a few times..."
Inuyasha stares at Coraline for a moment, before moving closer and wrapping an arm around her front overtop hers, placing his palm on the hand resting on her breast.
"That's what makes things interesting. I suppose there's no telling what tomorrow will bring."
"Mhm...(Brighter smile) Say, what do think Enju's doing now?"
Smiling a little himself, the dog demon pecks the top of his girlfriend's head before replying,
"Hm, she's probably just feedin' a fire."
...Somewhere deep in a high mountain peak, a kiln lightly billows out smoke from its chimney, the fire's tender being the brunette of conversation. She then looks up behind her to see a Shinidamachū fly down to her with a Soul, and she asks it,
"Was it Kikyō that bid you to come?"
The demon does not answer, and drops the Soul into Enju, her body enveloped in a brief blue-white glow, before she says to the air with a small smile,
"I am giving life a chance...just as I had promised."
...Down in the deep forests below the mountainside, the specter priestess was standing between some skinny tree trunks near a section of the river, as two of her demon allies float past her...before she mutters with a smile,
"Giving life a, chance..."
Hm...I have a feeling my dear, Soul Sister, has to do with that.
"Kikyō...I dunno how much longer you'll have to wander the earth until you can finally be at peace once again, but I wish you all the luck in the world."
"Heh...same to you, and Inuyasha."
The priestess then turns around, and wanders back into the shadows of the canopy cover...